In-Depth Interview: Seeking the Real Story of Oregon Occupation and Death of LaVoy Finicum

Attorney, rancher and activist Todd Macfarlane provides an insider view of the occupation of the Oregon wildlife refuge led by Ammon Bundy, and the police killing of LaVoy Finicum at a roadblock on January 26.Macfarlane is an attorney, rancher, writer and political activist. He and his family own and operate the Turkey Track Ranch, near the small town of Kanosh, Utah. Todd is a veteran from earlier dust-ups in the sagebrush rebellion, having represented Mary Bullock and other ranchers in long-standing struggles with the federal government. Read his BoilingFrogsPost article here.

Quite different from the media coverage of the Oregon occupation, Macfarlane's account of the scene at Malheur wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon--which he visited on January 8 and 9--offers insight into the motivation of the occupiers and the impatience of the FBI and Oregon officials. He argues that the protesters would've melted away eventually, but law enforcement sought a confrontation over infractions at the level of trespassing.

We discuss in detail the events of January 26, when a possible FBI informant drove the car with Ammon Bundy that was first stopped at the roadblock. Finicum followed in a truck with one male and two female passengers. We discuss the edited video released by the FBI, which shows Finicum getting out of his truck with his hands up, then falling to the snow after shots were fired.

You'll hear Macfarlane offer fair criticism of the Bundys and Pete Santilli, while offering important context and noting some of the grievances many ranchers in the West have with the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.